ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 002853 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM NSC FOR NEA STAFF SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA HQ USAF FOR XOXX DA WASHDC FOR SASA JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 JERUSALEM ALSO ICD LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL PARIS ALSO FOR POL ROME FOR MFO SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION Please note: There will not be a Tel Aviv Media Reaction report Thursday, September 27, 2007, due to the Sukkoth holiday. -------------- SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: -------------- Iran -------------- Key stories in the media: -------------- All media reported on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. The Jerusalem Post bannered: "Ahmadinejad Sets Out His Vision of a World without Israel." He was quoted as saying that his country has completed the development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes and that he considers the debate on the issue closed. Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Gillerman walked out before Ahmadinejad's speech, calling him a "madman." Leading media quoted FM Tzipi Livni as saying that she refuses to attend Ahmadinejad's attempts to legitimize his twisted view. Leading media reported that at a press conference after his speech Ahmadinejad would not answer questions by Karnit Goldwasser, the wife of one of the IDF soldiers kidnapped by Hizbullah in July 2006. The Iranian President ignored a question by Channel 10-TV 's Washington correspondent and withdrew his hand when Israel Radio correspondent Benny Avni told him he was a proud Zionist. Major media quoted President Shimon Peres as saying on Tuesday that he was in favor of academic freedom of expressions "on condition that it is based on truth, not lies. Ahmadinejad stood up on Monday and lied to the people of America." The media reported that in his speech to the UNGA, President Bush slammed brutal regimes, including Iran, but avoided mentioning Ahmadinejad. Singling out the Human Rights Council, the President was quoted as saying that the UN was "silent on repression" in places like Caracas and Tehran while it focused its criticism "excessively on Israel." He also mentioned Israel in his reaffirmation of a two-state solution and call for the international community to help by backing Palestinian moderates. Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter was quoted as saying in an interview with Makor Rishon-Hatzofe that Yasser ARAFAT and his follower Mahmoud Abbas "built tactics of cowards, who did not have the courage to go out to the streets and confront those whom they viewed as jeopardizing the interests of the PA. All media reported that French President Nicholas Sarkozy told the UNGA on Tuesday that "allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons would mean an unacceptable risk for regional and world stability." Sarkozy added there would be no world peace if the international community "shows weakness in the face of the proliferation of nuclear weapons," Ha'aretz reported that Syria is willing to transfer its claim to the Sheba Farms to UN custody as part of an effort to resolve the sovereignty dispute. The new Syrian position was outlined in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos, who visited Damascus last month. Ha'aretz quoted Israeli political sources as saying on Tuesday that Syria's offer is meant to put pressure on Jerusalem, which opposes a withdrawal from Sheba at this stage. Yediot correspondent Ron Ben-Yishai reported from the location in the Syrian desert where he said the September 6 Israeli strike took place. The newspaper said it would publish more details from Ben-Yishai on Friday. Yediot reported that in recent days the Syrian Army increased its activities in the Golan. The Jerusalem Post reported that EU Ambassador to Israel Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal said on Tuesday that Syria's decision on whether to attend a US-sponsored Middle East meeting in Washington could go a long way in determining the future of the peace process. The Jerusalem Post reported that a committee set up following the cabinet's decision last week to define the Gaza Strip as "hostile territory" has recommended that Gaza be penalized seven megawatt-hours of electricity following every Qassam rocket attack. Ha'aretz and other media reported that on Tuesday Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest bank, announced that it is cutting business ties with Palestinian banking institutions in the Gaza Strip, thereby essentially severing the Hamas-ruled territory from a steady money supply. Ha'aretz said that Israel Discount Bank, the other Israeli bank with the necessary clearing mechanisms in place for working with Palestinian banks, is expected to follow suit. Media reported that both banks are in part responding to the GOI's recent decision to declare Gaza "hostile territory." Ha'aretz reported that on Tuesday FM Tzipi Livni told the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, that Arab countries should strengthen ties with Israel via "normalization in stages." (Yediot printed a picture of Livni with Qatar's head of state.) At a meeting in New York, Livni and Sheikh Al-Thani also discussed the talks between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of the regional meeting due this fall in Washington, and Qatar's possible support for the talks. Earlier in the day Livni met with Egyptian FM Ahmed Ali Abu al-Gheit, saying that to contribute to the success of the diplomatic process, Egypt had to stop the smuggling of arms and money into Gaza. Livni also said "recent developments are turning the West Bank into a test case" where "the success of the process" would be measured. On Monday Livni met with the foreign ministers of Jordan and Mauritania, as well as with deputy foreign minister Sayyid Badr of Oman, with which Israel has not had diplomatic relations since the outbreak of the second Intifada in 2000. Livni and Badr met over the dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Middle East Desalination Research Center in Oman -- a remnant of cooperation between Israel and the Arab world. Based on interviews with Arab diplomats, The Jerusalem Post reported that Arab leaders see the Washington meeting as a "waste of time." Major media reported that the cabinet is divided over National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer's proposal to imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti. The Jerusalem Post quoted associates of Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying that Ben-Eliezer was not speaking on behalf of Barak, his political ally. Maariv reported that most cabinet ministers are in favor of freeing Barghouti in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit. Leading media quoted National Union-National Religious Party MK Effi Eitam, a former minister, as saying on IDF Radio that releasing Barghouti would lead to soldiers refusing to take orders. Israel Radio reported that Hamas has voiced its opposition to such a deal. Ha'aretz reported that former PM Ariel Sharon's aides inquired whether Barghouti would support Salam Fayyad for prime minister should Fatah win the January 2006 elections. MK Haim Oron (Meretz), who visited Barghouti in his Israeli prison, served as the liaison between Barghouti and Sharon's bureau. Barghouti told Oron that he would support Fayyad and objected to forming a coalition with Hamas. Sharon's staff concluded that Barghouti had the power to help Fatah win the elections, and therefore, the authorities improved his prison conditions: This morning electronic media reported that IDF forces have arrested seven wanted militants in the West Bank, including a participant in the 2000 lynch of IDF soldiers in Ramallah. Several Qassam rockets were fired into Israel. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported on Islamic Jihad's growing presence on the Internet. Ha'aretz reported that senior Israeli and Palestinian police officers will participate in a conference organized by the EU next month in Jerusalem as part of efforts to renew cooperation between Israel and the PA. Ha'aretz quoted Colin Smith, who heads EUCOPPS, the EU team advising the PA's police force, as saying that the purpose of the conference will be to renew ties between the forces and begin formulating working procedures on issues of common interest. The Jerusalem Post and Maariv cited an AP report that Israel is lobbying nuclear exporting countries to lift restrictions that prevent them from doing business with the Jewish state. The initiative appeared to be linked to a US-India deal that would effectively waive the rules of the Nuclear Suppliers Group by allowing the US to supply India with nuclear fuel despite its refusal both to sign the nonproliferation treaty and to allow the IAEA to inspect all of its nuclear facilities. The Jerusalem Post cited an AP report that North Korea accuses the US of helping Israel develop nuclear weapons. Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that the US will build a nuclear reactor in Yemen. Maariv reported that a source associated with the investigation of Daniel Sharon, the dual Israeli-German citizen detained in Lebanon, told the English-language Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star that Sharon is not a spy. Ha'aretz reported that on Monday an Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian academic center was inaugurated in Berlin. The center -- the product of a joint initiative by the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Jordan's Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies, and Al Quds University -- will specialize in European Studies. Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya President Uriel Reichman, Al Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh, Dutch Queen Beatrix, and former German president Richard von Weizsacker, attended the ceremony. Ha'aretz, The Jerusalem Post, and Makor Rishon-Hatzofe reported that right-wing activists are planning to set up five new settlement nuclei throughout the West Bank on Sunday. Ha'aretz reported that the Jerusalem Municipality is promoting a plan to build 1,900 housing units for Arab residents of the city in the northern neighborhood of Isawiyeh. Leading media reported that Haidar Abdel Shafi, a former Palestinian negotiator, leading Palestinian nationalist, and physician, died Tuesday in the Gaza Strip. He was ¶88. Leading media cited a prediction by the Israel Airports Authority (which controls Israel's border crossings) on Tuesday that between 30,000 and 40,000 Israelis will cross through Taba to Sinai over the Sukkoth holiday, despite warnings from the GOI's terror headquarters. Maariv told the plight of 96 refugees from Eritrea who crowd a Tel Aviv apartment. Ha'aretz Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner said that the 2008 US presidential campaign will be the "longest, most expensive, most sophisticated, most impulsive, and most crowded one in US history -- perhaps also the most interesting. -------------- Iran: -------------- Summary: -------------- Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner opined in the left-leaning, independent Ha'aretz: "The credibility of the Security Council is on the line. It is possible to see this as good news of a sort: Burns apparently believes that it still has some shreds of credibility left to lose." The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "[President Bush's] speech [at the UN] seems to have been written almost as if the jihadi bid for global dominance did not exist." Washington correspondent Orly Azolai wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot: "[Ahmadinejad] taught Bush a lesson this week: He proved that he is not afraid to talk directly with the enemy." Block Quotes: -------------- ¶I. "Ahmadinejad and the City" Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner opined in the left-leaning, independent Ha'aretz (9/26): "On one hand, it is possible to hope that no great damage was caused [by Iranian President Ahmadinejad's visit to NY]. He came, he spoke, he left.... But in the big city, and sometimes this is easy to forget, public relations are an important matter, but not the most important. More important is a shipment of Iranian arms that was caught in Afghanistan last week on its way to the Taliban rebels. More important are the talks on tightening sanctions on Iran, which, if they do not produce results, will spell the end of the illusion of resolving the crisis by means of the United Nations Security Council. Today and tomorrow, there will be meetings of the countries that are supposed to decide on those sanctions.... At their meeting last Friday, which was reportedly 'excellent,' no agreement was reached. Therefore, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns took the trouble to send a warning in advance of the next round of talks: The credibility of the Security Council is on the line. It is possible to see this as good news of a sort: Burns apparently believes that it still has some shreds of credibility left to lose." II. "The Jihadist Elephant" The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (9/26): "On Tuesday, President George W. Bush, speaking to the UN, stood up for human rights around the world.... Yet ... the speech seems to have been written almost as if the jihadi bid for global dominance did not exist. How is it possible to speak of human rights challenges in individual nations without prominently acknowledging the greatest threat to human rights globally, let alone outlining a strategy to address it?.... Faced with a ruthless and determined enemy that celebrates death over life and poses an inimical threat to Western civilization, we dance gingerly around the problem, as if it is not quite a subject for polite company.... Our leaders talk blithely of real global problems, such as the environment, poverty and disease and human rights, as though it would be possible to comprehensively address any of them if the world descends into an abyss of escalating terrorism, spreading dictatorships and new nuclear powers sprouting like mushrooms.... Western global priorities are seriously misaligned.... The existential threat to Israel is, of course, part of the Islamist threat to the West. Ignoring it, in either its local or global forms, will not make it go away." III. "Ahmadinejad Took Center-Stage" Washington correspondent Orly Azolai wrote in the mass-circulation, pluralist Yediot Aharonot (9/26): "For over two years Bush has tried to convince the Americans and the world that Satan resides in Tehran and that Iran is the axis of evil's most dangerous point. Instead of being offended, he taught Bush a lesson this week: He proved that he is not afraid to talk directly with the enemy, and that playing at being angry is good in a kindergarten, but not for managing a world approaching a crisis. It is doubtful whether many Americans were convinced by his claims, but it is equally hard not to remain indifferent to his pronouncements.... Ahmadinejad proved that one does not have to agree with every word that is uttered. It is possible to be opposed to him, protest, and insult, but also, to ask and listen. This is better than banging on the drums of war." JONES